Blood Relative
by anatharize
Summary: A long-awaited war erupts between Araulen and Hibernia, kickstarted by the supposed 'kidnapping' of Aideen O'Carrick, the Crown Princess of Clonmel. Gilan somehow finds himself responsible for the kind but stubborn runaway sort-of-Princess, who's only apprentice age yet willing to fight an army for her freedom and the country that took her in with open arms. Gilan fans rejoice!
1. Nighttime

**You know what I like? I like strong, well-written female characters that depend on no one but themselves.**

 **Now, I'm no chick flick writer. I'm not good with romance. I'm good at writing angsty and serious things. With this in mind, my girl Aideen is no Mary Sue and this story isn't what you'd call cheerful. I want to make Aideen as real as possible because what's the point in writing a story if the main character doesn't have flaws and make mistakes? Why write stories about a war if you don't make it gritty and dark?**

 **I hope that this all seems realistic and well-written to you guys. I'm planning to put Aideen through hell and back, so hopefully you'll want to be along for the ride.**

 **It has a good ending, I swear.**

 **Anyway, th** **is takes place roughly a year after The Emperor of Nihon-Ja. Please review** **, and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!**

A shadowy form slipped out of one of Dun Kilty's many windows with the grace of a cat stalking its prey. It was a moonless night, so the shadow didn't have much light to see, but they knew that they had plenty of time to get down to the battlements. Their cloak, as gray as the stones around it, seemed to blend with the wall. The figure was invisible to the sentries passing below, silent as the dead. No one knew of their coming. The person murmured a curse as the hood of their cloak fell off due to the wind and the mass of curls underneath. A calloused hand pulled it back up, and the shadow continued its descent.

The sentry that stood below the eastern tower had no idea that he was being stalked. He shifted, ran a hand over his face, and halfheartedly peered down at the rocky ground below. He had to admit that it was indeed a good night for an attack, but there was simply no evidence of one, ane he just wanted to go to bed. It was cold and windy and he was wearing leather armor that did nothing against the autumn chill. Muttering to himself, he shifted his weight and rubbed his hands together.

Then, panic coursed through his blood as he felt the tip of a knife press against his back. He stiffened, at a complete loss of what he should do. He was armed with a simple half-rusted sword, that he was rubbish at using, for god's sake! What-

"It appears that if this castle ever goes under siege, I'm going to end up killed in my sleep with the likes of you watching me," a dry voice said behind him. The pressure on his back released and he turned, releasing a pent up breath.

"You scared the hell out of me!" Davin hissed. He was seventeen and, though he wouldn't admit it under pain of death, he was still a little afraid of the dark. Who knew what was out there in the woods, anyway? Faeries could get past guards easily, you know, and he wasn't fond of the idea of meeting one face-to-face. They loved the dark, the little demons. He was used to speaking with Aideen, though, and he could never get his head around why she loved slinking around in the dark so much. She could at least give him some warning before she ambushed him in the middle of the night!

Aideen, the Crown Princess of Clonmel, grinned. "Aye. It looks like you needed something to wake you up."

"So you put a knife in my back?"

She chuckled at that. "Now, that's a bit of an exaggeration."

The young sentry shook his head slowly. "I don't know what that means."

The brunette shrugged. "No matter." She pushed a lock of dark hair out of her face, uncovering the splash of freckles across her nose and cheeks.

He suddenly noticed that her smile didn't reach her dark brown eyes. "Are you okay?"

Aideen padded over to the railing and leaned against it, surveying the dim land below. He followed the girl. The duo had becomd friends several months ago, when Davin had gotten his current job. It had been quite the surprise to see the Crown Princess- who he'd only seen in parades and the like, wearing her fancy dresses that looked terribly uncomfortable- picking her way down the castle walls. Once his initial shock wore off, along with his clumsy bows and stuttering, he quickly realized that she had a good heart- along with an even better sense of humor. She wasn't in a good mood tonight, it seemed. But that was to be expected, given their country's political state.

"Father told me that he doesn't expect to live much longer," she murmured.

Confused, Davin responded quickly. "He's in perfect health!"

The princess nodded gravely. Her fingers traced a pebble that was embedded in the wall. "Another assassin was caught today, in the laundry area. The third one in the past four months."

Without meaning to, Davin's eyes flickered over to her bandaged hand and wrist. She'd narrowly avoided getting a pot of boiling water thrown on her several weeks ago, though a wave of the stuff had splashed her arm. The man that had sent it careening towards her turned out to be hired from another province, one that he didn't tell the name of, because the noble that had hired him hadn't wanted a girl on the throne. Precious few knew that Aideen despised the idea of ruling, and even less knew of her plans to run away before she had to do so. She was likley to get killed before it happened anyway, due to the amount of nobles in Clonmel alone that wanted her dead. _The power hungry bastards,_ Davin thought.

"There are rumors of war as well," she said softly. "Between us and Araulen, though I don't know why. All I know is that we started it."

Davin was silent. He didn't know what to tell her. The situation wasn't going to get better.

The princess looked at him, her eyes wide and questioning. "Do you think that I'd make a good ruler, Davin?"

The young man hummed and looked down to the ground, gathering his thoughts. "You've a good heart, Aideen. You're more righteous than anyone else here, but I'm afraid that it'll get you killed. This place is too corrupt to fix by one person. Your father tried, at least," he said softly. "Everyone's against you."

"They'll kill me before I get a chance, you mean?"

"I do."

Aideen fell silent for a moment. "You're right. And, honestly, I say let them take the the throne from me." She smiled sadly. "It's only a matter of time before I get an arrow to the neck."

He looked at her curiously. "What can you do, though?"

She shook her head sadly. "Run away? I don't know. There's nowhere to go."

The two young adults stood quietly, drawing comfort from each other. It was an odd friendship, this one. A sentry and a princess. But they were bound to the same god-forsaken castle, and they both had little hope for the future. Aideen had half a mind to simply let them come for her, let them kill her. It wasn't as if she had anywhere else to go, and death would be easier anyhow. But her survival instincts always kicked in at the last second, as she deflected pots of boiling water and impulsively threw a knife at her would-be attacker. That damn Genovesan.

Davin, she knew, had a family to support. Two little brothers and a sickly mother. She helped as best as she could, but talking to peasants such as sentries was heavily frowned upon amongst the self-important nobility.

A humorless chuckle escaped Aideen's lips. "What if I really did run away?"

He turned to her, smiling thinly at his soon to be monarch. He understood her situation, and the stakes involved. "Tell me when and I'll make sure that there's a horse ready for you."

Aideen turned to him quickly, scrutinizing him. "Are you serious?"

He nodded empathatically. "Anything to help the damsel in distress."

She slapped his arm playfully. "Excuse me? I'm distressed, but I'm no damsel."

"Oh, no, m'lady," he joked. "Forgive me for saying such a thing!"

The girl smirked. "This lady could best you in a fight any day."

"With knives, yes," he said, nodding at the saxe on her hip. "But in plain, weaponless combat?"

She smiled thinly. "but I'm never without my knives."

Davin paused, trying to think of a time where she hadn't been armed. She always had a knife on her, he thought, no matter the situation. She was well-prepared, he had to give her that. But she was waiting for a response, and he had to give her one...

"You are _not_ a lady."

She snorted.

 **Aideen's name is pronounced as ayy-dee-en, in case you were wondering.**


	2. Of Needles and Diplomats

Alyss Mainwaring-Treaty stood at the helm of Stirling, a Skandian mercenary wolfship equipped with one of the new triangular sail designs. In her hands were several papers of written notes that she was focusing intently on, reading it as if she'd never touched the papers before. This wasn't true, of course. The courier had had these papers for nearly two weeks now, given to her in preperation for her current mission. She'd been set to the task of speaking to Clonmel's King Sean to see how his province was faring with the brewing war. She was to, if possible, clear any issues that he has with Araulen, as well as persuade him to stay neutral if a war does indeed break out. Seeing as this mission was one of grave importance, one was better safe than sorry, and she'd set herself to the task of memorizing her notes. The meeting was in two days and any mishap on her part could result in disasterous consequences. Everything she said and did had to be spot-on.

Her attention was distracted as a familiar green and gray cloak came into view. Why Will was wearing it on a warm day such as this was past her. The mischevious- and rather guilty- look on his face, however, was anything but surprising.

"What did you do?" she asked suspiciously. He was holding something behind his back, she realized suddenly, and she stepped away from him. Gorlog only knew what he could be up to. He shook his head fiercley at her reaction.

"No, no, wait," the young man said. He looked over her shoulder like he was searching for someone and she resisted the urge to do the same. After a moment, once he apparently decided that the coast was clear, he pulled out the object he'd been hiding. A saxe knife. What the hell?

Still grinning, he held it out to his wife. "Handir tried to take an arrow from my quiver when I wasn't looking, so I let him think that he did it. Then I stole his knife right off of him, and I'm afraid that he'll try to throw me overboard if he catches me with it, but he won't do that to you!" He said rapidly.

Alyss regarded her husband for a moment, then sighed and took the knife. Will and Handir, the skirl of this wolfship, had been playing pranks on each other since the day the Arauleners had boarded. Alyss had no idea why this had happened, but she had quickly found herself helping out both sides of this little war.

She put the knife in the concealed sheath of her dress. It was currently empty, due to there being no reason to be armed at the moment. The knife was a little thicker than her usual calvary sword but she managed to hide it well enough.

Will wandered over to the edge of the ship and Alyss followed. He was eyeing something on the horizon, she noticed, and she followed his line of view to see a dark line.

"Is that Hibernia?" She asked him. It was in the direction they were heading, after all. Her non-seaworthy husband shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm just an escort." He grinned up at her. She smiled back readily, then leaned on the bulwarks beside him. His expression darkened after a moment. Before she could ask what was wrong, he spoke. "It might be a storm." His eyes were slightly glazed, Alyss realized, as he thought of when he'd been heading towards Skandia with Princess Cassandra. He still had nightmares of that horrible storm...

She put a gentle hand over Will's own. "It's too cloudy for that. We'd know by now if a storm was coming."

He nodded and leaned against her. She knew that the weather had been bothering him in general, not just because of a storm. As was common during this time of year, the sky was overcast more often than not. Will was fine with that when he was home, but here in the middle of the ocean, the lack of direct sunlight toned everything around to the same drab shades of gray and brown. At least at home they had fires and trees to give out some sembalance of color.

Now that she thought about it, Will was never really himself when he was on ships. His first time on one had more or less scarred him for life, with the storm, homesickness, and fear for what the future was going to bring.

Suddenly aware of the impact his mood had on his wife, Will forced himself to brighten up a little. He was safe here, and there was a beautiful lady by his side. One that was incredibly observant towards other's moods.

He kicked idly at a pile of canvas and rope beside him. "Well, this wasn't the honeymoon that I was expecting." Their wedding had happened only slightly over a week ago, and while they hadn't planned a honeymoon, they were certainly hoping for one. They both suspected that their being paired on this mission was a bit of a joke made by Pauline, who had orchestrated this mission. After all, she had said 'Have fun, you two,' at the end of their mission briefing.

Halt had probably found that hilarious.

Alyss laughed softly at that. "Who knows? Perhaps this meeting will go better than expected and we can spend a few days exploring Hibernia."

Her husband made a face. "I was thinking of going to Seacliff."

"Were you, now?"

"Yes. It's quiet and quite pretty, I must say. There are lots of pine forests."

"We'll go there the day we get back home."

He tilted his head. "Is there anywhere you'd like to go?"

She smiled at him. "As long as I'm with you, I'd be okay with honeymooning in Hell."

They fell silent. Will took one of Alyss's hands and kissed it lightly, then looked at the ring that adorned one of her fingers. It was a pretty thing, really, a pale gold band made of three small pieces that had been braided together with three small diamonds on the top. He knew that the inside of the ring had Mainwaring-Treaty inscribed on it, a simple testimony to their marriage. He'd wanted something that wasn't gaudy and overstated, nor did he want something plain. In the end, he'd decided on this elegant design. Its pale gold color matched the laurel pin she wore on her dress, which had been Lady Pauline's idea. His own ring was a plain gold band with Treaty-Mainwaring on the inside, though it was the same color as hers. He wore it on his necklace more than his finger because he was less likely to lose it, given his rather rough-and-tumble lifestyle.

Then the newlyweds went back to watching the land grow nearer, quietly enjoying a rare moment of peace.

"Oi! Ranger!" Handir lumbered up to the couple, sucessfully ruining the moment. Will turned to him, smiling readily.

The expression on Handir's face was somewhere between amusement and concern, Will thought. He could work with this.

"Hey! Whats going on?" He asked cheerily. Too cheerily. The skirl caught it and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Where'd you put my knife?" He asked bluntly. Will smirked.

"Where'd you put my arrow?"

Handir's eye widened in surprise. "You saw me?" He asked, seeming to be genuinely surprised.

"I'm afraid so, yes,' Will drawled. "It was either that or a sea lion had knocked over my quiver."

Handir broke into a booming laugh. "You've got me, boy!" Then, he sobered a little. "I'll get your arrow when you give me my saxe."

Smiling, Will looked over at his wife. The blonde pulled the heavy knife out of her sheath and held it out for Handir, grinning a bit herself. The skirl broke into laughter again. "Your lady's in on it as well!"

"I'm already helping him with his next prank," Alyss said with a knowing smile. The Skandian regarded her cautiously. He had a feeling that Lady Alyss would be an even more brutal prankster than her husband if she chose to be.

Grinning, albiet reluctantly, Handir went to retrieve Will's arrow. As soon as he left, Will looked at his wife, still smiling but mildly confused. "What next prank?"

She shrugged, a smirk on her lips. "I have no idea, but now we've got to do one."

Will cast another look at Hibernia. It was closer than ever. "We may need to do it on the way back."

 ** _I forgot how to do a line break someone help me I'm on mobile la dee dah_**

Aideen pinched her wrist in a desperate attempt to stay awake in her embroidery class. Miss O'Connor, their ancient teacher, was currently telling her class of twenty girls how to thread a needle. _Like we don't know that already,_ the princess thought to herself, _she's probably forgotten that we've been doing this since we were five._

Her training as a princess, however, ensured that she appeared to be paying rapt attention to the lesson. O'Connor had no qualms about hitting the Crown Princess on the wrist with a ruler, and she hit _hard._ There was still a mark from last week, when she and another girl had been caught weaving rather crude words onto their fabric, when they were supposed to be weaving their names.

Her attention strayed to the classroom's window, where there was a clear view of one of Clonmel's several sword fighting areas. Aideen knew that there would be knife fighters there as well. Oh, what she'd give to be out there. She was better with her knives than she'd ever be with a damned _needle._ She was going to rule Clonmel one day, for god's sakes! How was embroidery going to help her have debates with other rulers, or help her fix this hellhole of a kingdom? If she were a boy, she'd be out there, learning how to fight with her knives- she was already rather good, but more practice never hurt, and-

"Oi! O'Carrick! We're weaving now!" Her teacher interrupted her thoughts, half-shouting in that nasally, frail voice of hers. "Leave the fighting to the men!"

Aideen rolled her eyes and, before she could stop herself, spoke. "Sorry, but I don't see how being able to use a needle is going to help me in the future, when I'm the ruler of this kingdom."

"If you don't shut your mouth, girl, someone will make sure you'll never get the chance!"

That was it. Aideen stod so forcefully that her chair clattered to the ground and startled the girls next to her. "You have no right to say that, not with what's been going on!" She yelled. "I nearly died several weeks ago, you ignorant asshole!"

"Aideen-" someone beside her murmured. She ignored them.

"This damn needlework is useless! I've got better things to do, like learn to protect myself!"

"That's true," a quiet voice behind her said. "But shouting at dear miss O'Connor isn't going to help this situation, is it?"

The princess froze, suddenly very aware of her outburst. "Father."

"I'm afraid that we're going to have to table this discussion for later, dear, because I'd like you to come with me."

The small woman sighed, set her chair back into an upright position, and walked towards the door. She was very aware of the twenty-two pairs of eyes focused on her, although she gave no sign of it.

She looked up at her father and was mildly surprised to see that he wasn't angry with her. What was he here for, anyway? Once the door shut, she opened her mouth to tell him what had happened, but he raised a hand wearily. "We'll speak of this later. For now, we've got a meeting to go to that I'd like you to be a part of."

"What-"

"I'll explain on the way there. Put on something semi-formal, please. It's an international meeting."

Aideen nodded and began the short trek to her room. She hoped that semi-formal meant that she didn't have to wear a corset, because there was no way on earth that she was going to. Not on such short notice as this.

Ten minutes and one loose, floor length, blue dress later, she stepped out of her bedroom to see her father waiting. "What's the hurry?" She asked.

"It's international, as I said. One of Araulen's finest couriers is here and I don't want to keep her waiting."

"Why is she here?"

"To ask about the possible war." Her father smiled thinly. "Clonmel is so busy fighting amongst each other that we haven't really become a part of it. I suspect that she's really here to ask us to stay neutral."

"Will we? Why is there a war forming, anyway?" Were the girl's next questions.

Her father smiled patiently at her. "I don't know, honestly, and putting it as simply as possible, it's due to the fact that Araulen's been watching our coasts for years. We're afraid that they're planning an attack."

"What's my part in the meeting?"

"To observe."

She nodded at that, then opened her mouth to ask another question. He pointed at a door- one that lead to a council room, Aideen knew- and spoke before she got a chance. "Ah, we're here. It's just us for this meeting, thankfully. None of the nobles felt like attending."

Aideen heard a note of annoyance in his voice, but said nothing. It was probably for the best that the pompous, power-hungry assholes weren't there. _At the same time,_ her mind whispered, _father could demand more from them. He was a rather weak King._

The guards opened the doors for the two royals. They stepped in, Aideen murmuring her thanks as she usually did, and they took their seats at the middle of the long, council-sized oak table. Less than a minute later a different door opened and two people came into view.

The first was a young man that was likley to be in his twenties. Aideen's keen eyes saw the knife at his side, however, and the calculated look in his eyes as he eyed her and her father. He looked fit as well, and Aideen decided that this was the diplomat's guard, and a man to be wary of. He saw Aideen watching him and nodded in recogniton, smiling kindly at her. She had no reason to be hostile towards this man, so she nodded in return, though her smile was smaller. He didn't seem to be bothered by this, however, and he turned his attention towards the woman that was entering after him. The diplomat was young as well, although she was blond and half a head taller than her escort. She was graceful in her movements and she held herself with an air of quiet confidece. Aideen decided that she liked her.

"King Sean," the blonde said smoothly, reaching out to clasp the man's hand. He responded readily.

"Lady Alyss Mainwaring, yes?" He said in return.

"I am," she responded, the gestured towards her escort. "And this is my escorr Ranger Will Treaty. I heard that you two met several years ago." Interesting.

"That we did," the king said, shaking Treaty's hand. The man smiled readily.

"How have you been?" He asked.

"As well as I can be, considering the state of the kingdoms," he responded with a weary smile. Then he turned to Aideen. "This is my daughter and the Crown Princess Aideen," he said. She shook both of the Araulener's hands as her father said, "she's here to watch, mostly, since she'll be taking my place one day."

Unbeknowst to the two travellers, the O'Carricks knew that any day could be the day that Aideen became Queen.

Lady Mainwaring flashed a brilliant smile at the girl. "That's good. Actually, Will is here to watch and learn a bit himself. He does international work for the kingdom regularly, but diplomacy isn't quite his strong point."

"The last time I was here, Halt and I tied up King Ferris and hid him in a changing room," Will said with a ghost of a smile. "I've been taught to take action, so my diplomacy skills aren't exactly perfect."

Aideen leaned forward, smiling a little herself. "I'm sorry, but can I ask why that happened? That sounds like a hell of a story."

Smirking a little, her father spoke. "It is, but it's a story for another time. We've got business to do."

With that, Lady Alyss took out a folder full of papers and the meeting started.

 **I'd like to thank Ali0523 for telling me that King Sean's name is, in fact, Sean. I had put it as Thomas. Thanks, love.**

 **Anyways, please review!**


	3. Assassination

**I hadn't been expecting so many reviews! Thank you, guys!** **I apologize for any typos in here. My spellcheck sucks, it's one in the morning, and I really wanted to post this. I'll look over it in a bit.** **Also, expect updates once every two weeks or so. I have an _insane_ schedule for the next month and I honestly don't know if I'll have any time to write.** **Anyways, enjoy!**

-

" _Would you be willing to tell us of Clonmel's loyalty to you?" Alyss had asked slowly, eyeing King Sean with concern. He didn't seem to like most of the nobles that she had mentioned thus far, and after all, it seemed as if they were all rather lazy to begin with. None of them were here, which negated the usual protocol for a meeting such as this._

 _He smiled wanly at the question. "It's better than it was five years ago, but I'm afraid that the situation is still rather bleak."_

 _Will had looked sympathetic as he leaned forward to speak. "You inherited a mess of a kingdom, I'm afraid."_

 _"Yes, I did," the king had replied. "Loyalties are all over the place here. I've been trying to fix it all, but I don't have as much power as I'd like." He looked over at his petite daughter, who was only partially paying attention. "It'll be worse for her. No one wants a girl on the throne."_

 _The Princess snapped back into the present, smiling a little herself, but it didn't reach her eyes. "They all want the throne. I'm just an inconvienence."_

Princess Aideen's words echoed in Will's mind as he and Alyss were escorted to their rooms. The plan had originally been to arrive in Clonmel, have the meeting, and skedaddle back to Araulen, but the weather had taken a turn for the worse and the duo didn't really want to ride to their ship in the rain.

The halls here were dim and rather drab, given the weather and the overall vibe of the place. Will couldn't imagine Halt living here. He associated his mentor with sunny days spent in the woods- they conflicted with the man's personality, but no one could disagree with Will's logic.

"They really went wild with the design here, didn't they?" Alyss asked dryly. "That green really doesn't flow with the rest of the design here." Green banners with golden outlines of a dog chasing a stag were placed evenly on the stone walls, and were the only actual colors in the immediate area. The guard that was escorting them snorted.

"It's been the same since this place was made."

"They certainly don't look new," Will said quietly. Dun Kilty was a proud-looking castle, for sure, with its intimidating walls and spires that rose above the city around it. But there were signs of decay and neglect inside. The banners were slightly faded and patched, the guard's and sentry's armor that Will had seen thus far was dull and occasionally rusted. The people themselves looked at he and Alyss with a cautious distrust, more than aware that they were Arauleners. Hell, Will thought, the castle's occupants seemed to eye each other with suspicion. The castle was divided. The entire province was, probably. Will knew that the distrust that was pointed towards Alyss and himself was because of the rumors of war, but what was causing problems amongst Clonmel herself?

There was a crash that sounded suspiciously like a platter falling, down a hall that the trio was passing. Then a shout of surprise.

"Oi! Get back here, girl!" Someone shouted. A door swung open to reveal a curly-haired brunette that was wearing boy clothes. Funny, Will thought. She'd just been wearing a dress.

Princes Aideen was beaming as she escaped the castle kitchens, a loaf of bread in her hands. Why would a princess be stealing food?

"I'm puttin' it to good use, chef! Thank ya!"

"Every fourday, girl!" A voice roared seconds before its owner appeared. The chef was a tall man, though none too thin, with stark red hair and an equally red face. He waved a frying pan in his hand. It looked considerably more dangerous than Chubb's little wooden spoon, Will thought.

The girl waved a hand (a bandaged one. Why was her left hand bandaged?) as she ran down the hall.

"I'm never letting you into the kitchens again, girl!"

"You say that every time!" She skidded around a corner, The chef stood there for a moment, staring at the place where the girl had been, then shook his head and went back into the kitchens. Will could have sworn that the man was smiling.

Shaking his head with a bit of a grin himself, he continued walking.

Their escort smiled sadly. "She's a kind girl, that one. The bread is for one of her sentry friends." He shook his head. "The boy's sustaining his entire family. There's five of them in all, I believe."

"He's too poor to support them," Will stated. The man nodded.

"He'll run himself to the ground before he admits it. But she sees it."

"Will she make a good queen, do you think?" Alyss asked.

"Oh, she'll be the best ruler we've had in a while." Then his face darkened. "If she isn't killed before it. She's barely escaped several assassinations in the past month."

Will and Alyss looked at each other, concern etched across their faces. Both of them wanted to ask questions, but neither of them really thought that it would be tactful to do so. Several people from the castle staff were bustling past, and both Arauleners knew how talkative they could be.

The guard suddenly stopped and motioned towards two doors. "Here's your rooms, sir and miss," he said. "Safe travels."

"I hope you have a dry night," Alyss said sympathetically. He smiled wanly.

"As do I." And with that, he was gone.

-

Aideen's eyes shot open. Something had woken her, she was sure, but what?

The teen pulled her saxe knife out from under her pillow and sat up, scanning the room carefully. It was nearly pitch black, and rain was pounding against the stone castle walls. She realized that her window was open and rain was getting into her room, then relaxed. That was what had woken her. She rolled off her bed and padded towards the window.

To Aideen's surprise- and confusion- a spear lay on the floor by the window. She didn't use a spear, so...

Grabbing her knife again, she cautiously peered down to the battlements below. A lone figure stood there, a sentry, waving his arms frantically. She frowned in confusion. What was going on?

Then there was a shout outside her room, the hiss of a guard's sword leaving his scabbard, then the ugly cracking sound of a crossbow releasing a bolt.

There was no explanation for this, aside from an assassination attempt. Aideen cursed under her breath and bolted to the weapon cabin on the side of the room. She estimated that she had at least a minute. Her door was locked from the inside and heavily reinforced with steel, so they'd have to break it down.

The girl threw on her most prized piece of weaponry: a heavily knife laden leather strap that crossed across her chest. It held twenty throwing knives and a light short sword, and it had already saved her life once. On a whim she took a small shield as well. It would help if that crossbow was shot at her.

The door rattled loudly. She cursed.

Aideen took a deep breath and situated herself in the middle of the room, two throwing knives in her hands. She tried to still the shaking to no avail.

Then, to her own surprise, she smiled grimly into the dark. She'd never feared death, not really. Hopefully her attackers didn't either, because they were in for a rude surprise.

They weren't expecting her to put up a fight.

Hopefully.

Aideen winced as the door shook again, even though it held its own. She suddenly realized that she had no idea how many men were out there, and how many of them were skilled fighters. The fifteen year old understood her own limitations, and while they were surprisingly small for such a young woman, they were there.

Aideen ran to the side of her room and began pushing her wardrobe towards the door with all of her strength. This was no time to be a hero.

-

Will awoke out of a light sleep to the sound of his apartment door handle rattling, and the loud voices outside. Much like Aideen, he pulled his saxe knife out from under his pillow before doing anything else, then walked to his bedroom door. He and Alyss had decided to sleep in seperate rooms since this was a professional mission and they had no wish to draw attention to themselves.

The door handle rattled again and he frowned. Whatever was going on, it wasn't good. But what did anyone in Clonmel want with him? It wasn't as if he'd done anything. Even if he had he surely wouldn't be woken in the middle of the night, would he?

The door suddenly shook as someone outside slammed his shoulder into it. He was under attack.

Will resisted the urge to scoff. It wasn't out of amusement, since he was rather certain of his abilities to take down his attackers. It was more out of nervous confusion. He ran a hand through his sleep-mussed hair and walked to the door.

"You know, it's raher rude to break someone's door down in the middle of the night," he deadpanned. Will was doing this simply to hear what they said in response in hopes that they'd tell him their business before trying to kill him.

"You're under arrest!" a man shouted. "Open the door!"

That took the young Ranger by surprise. "For what?" He asked incrediously, spreading out his arms as if they'd see the gesture.

"You killed Princess Aideen!" Was the furious reply. Several voices yelled in agreement.

Will actually took a pace back, both from surprise and understanding. He was being framed for an assassination, he was sure of it.

Aideen was dead. He'd known her for all of five hours, but it still shocked him. Anger surged through him. She'd been killed simply because she was an obstacle.

He had to find a way out of this.

"I... I'm sorry," he stammered, "how was she killed?"

"She was shot, you idiot!" Was the angry reply. Will remembered with a jolt that he'd left his bow on the ship since he wouldn't have been allowed to bring it into the castle.

"I don't have my bow." He had to think fast. What could he do?

"Open up!" The door shook violently.

"Langley!" Will blurted. "There's a guard named Langley here! He escorted me to my room, he can tell you that I didn't have a bow!"

There was a silence from the other side. To Will's surprise, a familiar voice answered him.

"Aye, you didn't," Langley said slowly.

"That's not the point!" The first man said angrily. "It doesn't matter! We were told to kill him!"

"Well, I tried," Will said to himself. He deftly hacked a leg off of a chair with his saxe so he could at least have some form of shield. It was more of a cricket bat, really, but he'd once seen Evanlyn do some serious damage with one of those.

-

Aideen had never packed a bag so quickly in her life. The girl unbuckled her trustworthy leather hunting bag and unceremoniously stuffed in a week's worth of riding clothes. She also threw in a short sword, two cloaks, an extra pair of boots, and a small bag of money that she kept in her weapon cabinet in case of an emergency.

The door rattled again and this time, something cracked.

"Not yet," she half-grumbled, half-begged.

Aideen threw on a pair of pants and hiked her nightdress up to her waist with the help of her belt, then she tossed a quiver of arrows and her yew bow over her shoulders.

"Now I just have to get down," she muttered, glancing at her window. The rocks would be too slippery and dangerous to climb down.

Another slam. Another crack. She shifted nervously, looking around the room for something, anything that would help her.

Her eyes fell on a forgotten coil of rope that was tucked behind her weapon cabinet. She estimated that it'd reach a good way down the tower, and it wasn't as if she had much of a choice.

She tied the rope to her bedpost, then threw the coil out of the window. She knew that if her attackers broke into her room before she could make it to the walkway, they could cut the rope on her, but it was a risk that she had to take. Dropping to her death would be less messy than a crossbow bolt to the neck anyway.

Another bang. Judging by the sound, the door had given way.

She had no time left.

Aideen stuck her head out of the window to the walkway below. Davin stood there, spearless and looking utterly terrified. She dropped her bag out of the window and moved to swing out of the window herself, then hissed in annoyance. She was going to get rope burn on her hands unless she went to the wardrobe and got some gloves. She did so quickly, even as the wardrobe shuddered as the men outside began pushing on it. She pulled out two knives and jammed them between the wardrobe legs and the floor as an impromptu doorstopper, grabbed her gloves, and ran for her life.

She moved down the rope in leaps, focusing on Davin's shouts of encouragement below. Aideen could feel the heat of the rope through her gloves as it slid through her hands, but she ignored it. The rain pounded against her. She was already soaking wet, and she hadn't been outside for a minute.

"Come on, Aideen!" Davin shouted frantically.

Fifteen meters, twelve meters...

A faint vibration moved through the rope. Aideen's heart skipped a beat. She knew what that meant. She glanced up to see two heads poking out of her window.

"Davin!" She choked out, her voice cracking with fear. The rope would snap at any second, she knew.

Nine meters, seven meters...

"I've got you!" The young sentry yelled.

The rope snapped. Aideen screamed as she fell, limbs flailing, but Davin was true to his word. He caught her and promptly fell over, but he did it.

Aideen saw one man move slighly, and she knew exactly what it meant. She scrabbled for her bag and threw it over both of them just in time as the crossbow bolt buried itself in the leather, right where her heart had been. The tip of the bolt actually came out of the other side and drew a little bit of blood from Aideen, but the injury was nowhere near fatal.

Then, wordlessly, the duo scrambled to their feet and ran, the rain quickly shielding them from view.

-

Will was completly at a loss. He was cornered in a room with god knows how many men outside of the door. And they were here to-

"What the _hell_ are you all doing?" An indignant voice shouted from the hallway. Will released a pent up breath. Alyss.

"Ma'am, he killed the princess," the leader of the group said.

Alyss laughed mockingly. "And when was this?"

"About two hours ago, ma'am-"

"I know _exactly_ where my husband was two hours ago, and he certainly wasn't off with the princess!" She said angrily.

Oh, god bless this woman. No one would want argue with her when she was implicating that sort of thing.

"Ma'am-"

"Do you know who he is?" Alyss asked haughtily. Oh, the trump card.

"Well, no, but-"

"Why would _Will Treaty_ run around killing teenage girls!?" She said.

A hush fell. Even in Hibernia, people knew who Will was. After a moment, the man spoke again. "Do you have proof that he's Will Treaty?"

"Yes." There was a brief silence. "Inside my ring, our last names are inscribed. Can you read?"

"I can," a new voice said quietly.

"Here."

Another brief silence. Will held his breath.

"That says Treaty, all right."

"But how do we know that he's your husband?" The leader asked.

Will spoke. "I'll come out and show you my ring, if I have your word that you won't kill me."

"Come on ahead," He replied. Cautiously, Will opened the door and stepped out, eyeing the attackers warily. Five guards stood there, eyeing him as well. He pulled the ring off of his necklace and held it out. The man that could read, presumably, took it and read the inscription inside. He nodded and faced the leader of the group, a stout man with a thick beard, and nodded.

He looked at Will with cold eyes. "I'd get out of here if I was you."

The couple took the hint quickly.


End file.
